Lubricator



Mel) L. F. LONGMOREQ.

LUBRIGATOR.

Patented Mar. 19. 1895.v

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LEWIS F. LONGMORF, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

LUBRICATOR SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 535,836, dated March 19, 1895.

Application filed October 26, 1394. Serial No. 527,015. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEWIS F. LONGMORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Lubricators for Shafts and Axles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to lubricators for shafts and axles, being especially useful for carriage-axles, and consists in the devices and combinations hereinafter described and claimed, the object of said invention being to enable the supply of lubricating material to be renewed at longer intervals than heretofore, thus efiecting a saving of time; to enable the lubricant to be applied very gradually but continuously while either of the lubricated surfaces are in motion; to enable the lubricant to be entirely consumed without Waste; to prevent rattling and wear of the movable part of the lubricator due to jarring caused by movement of either of the lubricated parts; and to enable the lubricant, when hard, to be forced into the space between the surfaces to be lubricated.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the inner side of the hub and part of the spokes of a carriage-wheel, showing my improved lubricator applied to said hub, and a vertical cross-section of the axle of said wheel on the line 1 1 in Fig. 2; Fig. 2, afront or rear elevation of a part of such a wheel, provided with my lubricator, and a part of the axle; Fig. 3, a central, vertical, longitudinal section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1, showing the lubricator and a part of the axle in front or rear elevation; Fig. 4, an isometric perspective view of my improved lubricator detached; Fig. 5, a central vertical section of the lubricator closed; Fig. 6, like Fig. 5, except that in Fig. 6, the cap is removed and the lubricator is open; Fig. 7, a plan of the lubricator; Fig. 8, a transverse, horizontal section on the line8 Sin Fig. 5, showing a plan of the plunger; Fig. 9, a plan of a barrel of the lubricator, omitting the cap, follower and plunger; Fig. 10, a reversed plan of the follower.

A indicates the hub; a, the spokes; a, the tire or felly, and (t the axle-box of a carriage wheel,-while B denotes the axle; b, the spindle; b, the nut which retains the wheel on the spindle,these parts being all of the usual construction and operation.

The lubricator 0 consists of ahollow cylinder 0, having a reduced end-portion c"which is externally screw-threaded, at 0 and engages a screw-threaded hole a in the axlebox o to retain the body of said cylinder 0 in a radial hole a in the body or Wooden part of the hub, the shoulder seating upon the outer surface of the axle-box a The central discharge-passage 0 through the reduced endportion 0 of the cylinder, is square in crosssection or many-sided to receive a reamershaped screw-driver of corresponding crosssection, by means of which said cylinder is turned into place.

The plunger D or valve is a disk of smaller diameter than the bore of the cylinder in order that said plunger may work freely in the cylinder through the axle-grease contained therein. The under side of said plunger is provided with the frustum d of an inverted cone and the bore of the main part of the cylinder is connected to the discharge-passage c by an inverted hollow cone 0 which fits said frustum d, when the plunger is pressed down to close said passage.

The plunger-rod d passes through a fol lower E concentrically therewith and is guided vertically thereby, and above said fol* lower is provided with a head 01 adapted to be grasped by the thumb and finger to raise or lower or turn said plunger, said plungerrod filling said follower so closely as to prevent the grease below said follower from passing through said follower.

The follower E is externally screw-threaded at e to engage an internal screw-thread 0 with which said cylinder is provided, the threads fitting each other as closely as possible, without preventing the turning of said follower in said cylinder. By turning the follower down into the cylinder, when the plunger or valve D is raised, the grease in the cylinder will be forced out of the discharge-pas sage 0 into the axle-box and against the spindle b, which within said box is provided with a longitudinal groove b to receive a quantity of the grease and convey it from end to end of the journal of said spindle b.

The lower face of the follower E is provided with one or more downward projections represented as radial ribs 6 (Figs. 5 and 10) and the upper face of the plunger D is provided with other projections d (Figs. 5, 6 and 8), represented as in parallel pairs, the space (Z between which acts as a groove to receive said projections 6' when the plunger is drawn up against the follower, so that by turning the head d of the plunger-rod d, the plunger will turn and carry with it the follower, raising or lowering said follower in the cylinder 0. The cylinder 0 is closed by a screw-cap 0 having a central recess 0 which receives the head (Z of the plunger-rod 61 when the plunger is closed and prevents any rattling of said plunger and rod, which might otherwise be caused by the motion of the carriage.

With the device above described, hard axlegrease or grease in the form of paste may be used, such paste being cheaper in the first cost and lasting longer than the oil. Such paste may be used even in cold weather; when the paste is ,very hard, said paste being forced by the screw-pressure of the follower into the axle-box, and the paste being applied between the ends of the hub will run in both directions on the spindle, carrying any dust that may be in the axle-box out of the ends thereof.

The lubricator will hold grease enough to lubricate the axle several times and render frequent removals of the wheelfrom the spindle unnecessary, a great advantage, because each removal of the wheel causes a portion of the dirt and grit accumulated on the ends of the hub to fall on the spindle.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of the hollow cylinder, having an external screw-thread and adapted to be secured thereby in a shaft-box or axlebox and having a discharge-opening, a plunger, or valve,adapted to close said opening and having a plunger-rod, and a follower, having an external screw-thread, to engage an internal thread with which said cylinder is provided, to force grease placed in said cylinder out of said discharge-opening, and having a central orifice through which said plunger slides said plunger and follower having locking means adapted to engage each other, as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of the hollow cylinder, having an external screw-thread and adapted to be secured thereby in the hub of a wheel and having a discharge-opening, a plunger or valve, adapted to close said opening and having a plunger-rod, and a follower, having an external screw-thread to engage an internal thread with which said cylinder is provided, to force grease placed in said cylinder out of said discharge opening, said follower surrounding and guiding said plunger-rod, said plunger and follower having locking means adapted to engage each other, as and for the purpose specified. I

3. The combination of the hollow cylinder, having an external screw-thread and adapted to be secured thereby in a shaft-box or axlebox and having a discharge-opening, a plunger or valve, adapted to close said opening, and having a plunger-rod, and a follower, having an external screw-thread to engage an internal thread, with which said cylinder is provided, to force grease placed in said cylinder out of said dischargeopening, said follower surrounding and guiding said plunger-rod, the lower face of said follower and the upper face of said plunger having projections to engage each other and to enable said follower to be turned by turning said plunger-rod, as and for the purpose specified.

In witness whereof I have signed this specification, in the presence of two attesting witnesses, this 20th day of October, A. D. 1894.

LEWIS F. LONGMORE.

WVitnesses:

ALBERT M. MOORE, LILIAN E. OWEN. 

